Who is Bishop Richard Henning, the new coadjutor bishop of Providence?

Pope Francis has appointed a new Coadjutor Bishop of Providence, the Most Rev. Richard G. Henning, according to announcement made Wednesday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.

Henning, 58, will work alongside Bishop Thomas J. Tobin once he is officially appointed in January, then automatically succeed Tobin after he steps down, the diocese stated.

Who is Bishop Henning? Here's what we know:

Where did Henning come from?

Henning was most recently the auxiliary bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, according to the diocese's website. The Diocese of Rockville Centre covers Long Island as its territory and has about 154 parishes for a population of more than 1.5 million Catholics.

Henning was appointed to Rockville Centre in 2018. According to the website, he primarily oversaw the office leading missionary growth.

What we know:New bishop appointed to serve alongside Bishop Tobin in Rhode Island

Facing hundreds of lawsuits after the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims was overturned, the Diocese of Rockville Centre filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Henning said on Wednesday that the bankruptcy had been "a learning experience. It’s certainly nothing I hope for to experience ever again." He added that it was "driven by the desire to first be able to have the resources to address survivors but also to be able to continue the mission of the church."

Before he was appointed to his post at Rockville Centre, Henning served as the associate pastor of Church of St. Peter of Alcantara in Port Washington, where he was particularly focused on the Spanish-speaking members of the church's community.

He studied Licentiates in Biblical Theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, according to his biography.

Where did Bishop Henning grow up?

According to his biography on the Rockville Centre Diocese website, Henning was born in Rockville Centre. The oldest of five siblings, he studied history at St. John's University in Queens for both his bachelor's and master's degrees and was ordained in 1992.

He is fluent in English and Spanish, speaks Italian and is able to read French, Greek and Hebrew.

Henning grew up spending summers "on a small island in the Great South Bay where his family has gone for generations," according to his official biography, which states that he has a “lifelong passion for the water, sailing, boating and kayaking."

With those interests, "there is no better place for you to be than here in the Ocean State," Tobin told Henning during a press conference on Wednesday.

Why did Henning choose the priesthood?

During Wednesday's press conference at the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul, Henning said that he felt a calling to the priesthood in the fifth grade.

At the time, he was attending a Catholic grammar school in suburban Valley Stream, New York. He recalled that a priest visited to speak about vocations, and afterward he had turned to a classmate and said, "I think I want to a be a priest."

"That idea came and went over my childhood and never quite went away," Henning said on Wednesday. "You're kind of feeling that tug of the Holy Spirit. ... I realized at one point I had to respond one way or the other."

Henning's father worked as a firefighter and his mother was a nurse who later become a homemaker, he said.

"Really, my vocation was born in the home with my parents," he said. "Both chose paths in life that were devoted to others."

Will he be new to Rhode Island?

Henning has spent much of his career on Long Island, where he grew up. He acknowledged that he does not yet "have any depth of knowledge of this state or of this diocese."

"I am going to admit to you that I have to do a lot of learning," he said. "I’ve been here as a tourist and I’ve enjoyed the beauty of your state. But I will be kind of a spiritual migrant. So I’m going to take a page from Pope Francis’ call to be a listening church, and I certainly hope to learn more not only just about the state but really the stories of its people, your hopes and dreams."

He said that he only learned about a week ago that he would be appointed Coadjutor Bishop for the Diocese of Providence, and has not yet had a formal briefing.

"I’ve certainly been Googling," he said, to laughter, adding that he plans to visit in the coming months and "listen and learn."

What about Bishop Tobin?

According to a press release put out by the Diocese of Providence, Henning and Tobin will work alongside each other at first. Tobin is slated to reach retirement age in April and Henning has "right of succession."

Bishops sometimes stay on past the age of 75, at the discretion of the pope. That seems unlikely to happen in Tobin's case.

"The transition, I think, will happen fairly quickly," Tobin said on Wednesday, adding that he had "already indicated in preliminarily correspondence with the Holy See that I hope that my retirement will be accepted in a timely manner."

Tobin said that he was guessing his resignation would be accepted "sometime this spring, but that’s really beyond my call."

"Bishop Henning comes to us with very impressive academic credentials, with diverse pastoral experience, and with eagerness to listen, to learn and to lead," he said in a prepared statement on Wednesday. "Bishop Henning is fully prepared to assume the leadership of the Diocese of Providence when that time comes — and I pray that will happen in the very near future!"

Is Henning as conservative as Tobin?

Tobin is known for his outspoken opposition to abortion and gay marriage. At times, he has been critical of Pope Francis, who has brought a more liberal outlook to the Catholic Church and expressed support for same-sex civil unions.

Henning did not give any indication that he shares Tobin's stances at Wednesday's press conference, and he did not express any disagreement with Pope Francis' beliefs.

"Do I in any way dissent from him? The answer is when it comes to Catholic teaching, no, I do not," he said.

"But the Holy Father doesn’t expect us to be automatons, right?" Henning added, saying that he sees it as his duty "to pray and to exercise leadership, and to do so according to my conscience.

"I would never see that as putting me at odds with the Holy Father."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bishop Richard Henning, new Providence bishop: What to know about him